A Window On Arab Culture #05: " the day of Arafah ".

in Cross Culture3 years ago (edited)

Hello friends.

In the previous article, we talked about the day of Ashura and its virtues in Islam and how Muslims celebrate it. Today we are talking about another holy day, which is the day of Arafah, where Muslims eagerly await its arrival every year.

Arafa.png

Image Source

What is the day of Arafah?

The day of Arafah falls on the ninth day of the month of Dhul-Hijjah, which is the last month of the Hijri year. This name was taken from Mount Arafat, east of Makkah.
On this day, the pilgrims stand from noon until sunset on Mount Arafat. There is another name for this day, which is the Day of Waqf, which means in Arabic the day on which people stand and is considered one of the most important rituals of Hajj. Then they go to Muzdalifah to stay overnight.

The virtue of the day of Arafah

Muslims sanctify this day because of its greatness, because on it God Almighty completed the revelation of the last verse of the Noble Qur’an and by it, the Islamic religion was completed, as God Almighty said in Surat Al-Ma’idah, verse 3 " This day I have perfected for you your religion and completed My favor upon you and have approved for you Islam as religion. But whoever is forced by severe hunger with no inclination to sin - then indeed, Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."
In addition, the Messenger, may God bless him and grant him peace, delivered a farewell sermon.
The day of Arafat is the ninth day of the first ten days of the month of Dhul-Hijjah, which God Almighty mentioned in a Surat Al-Fajr, verse 1-3 " By the dawn And [by] ten nights And [by] the even [number] and the odd" and this indicates that they are blessed days.

What do Muslims do on the day of Arafat?

About pilgrims, the Messenger, God bless him and grant him peace, forbade fasting on the Day of Arafat, to relieve them of the hardship of this day.
But the Muslims who did not go to perform the Hajj is the most beloved deed that they do on the Day of Arafat, which is fasting because this expiates the sins of the past year and the year to come, as the Messenger of God, may God bless him and grant him peace, said.
"Fasting the Day of Arafah, I hope that God will expiate for the year before it and the year after it".
Likewise, Muslims do not shave their hair and do not cut their hair from the first to the tenth of Dhul-Hijjah, this is following the example of the pilgrims, who are forbidden to do that.

Thanks for reading.
see you next time.